1. Field
The present disclosure relates to testing of solar cells and other optical sensors.
2. Background
Many optical sensors, particularly solar cells, need to be tested at various stages in the production cycle to assure performance and reliability. With solar cells made using older technologies, it was sufficient to test the cells with a properly shaped, spatially uniform beam on the solar cells. For example, it was not of great importance to ensure that factors such as spectral content and range of incident angles of the light closely mimicked those of the Sun. With the advent of advanced designs for multi-junction solar cells, such as those having four, five and six or more junctions, the need for an optical source assembly/solar simulator that can take artificial light and create a beam that closely mimics sunlight in terms of spatial uniformity, angular range, and spectral profile has increased. To properly test six junction solar cells, for example, it is desirable to adjust the spectral content in each of the six individual bands that are used in the solar cell structure. Present solar simulators typically have only one or two adjustable bands. These bands are usually adjusted with static notch filters. With the introduction of six junction solar cells, this old technology is no longer suitable.